


reflections {art}

by altocello



Series: Adam Driver Character Portraits [23]
Category: Paterson (2016)
Genre: Digital Painting, Ears, Fanart, Gen, Portraits, that mouth has to be illegal in at least one bible belt state
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 0
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altocello/pseuds/altocello
Summary: Adam Driver as Paterson, haloed by the light caught in his hair and on the edges of his ears, brow gently rumpled in thought, a faraway look in his wide-eyed gaze and a pensive set to his mouth.
Series: Adam Driver Character Portraits [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748746
Comments: 16
Kudos: 21





	reflections {art}

**Author's Note:**

> In which I almost titled this Spiegel im Spiegel, but thought better of it. 
> 
> I've found that it's only on the second or third time through a movie-- when I'm familiar with the characters and their arcs, and less concerned with plot-- that I can start to consciously identify other more subtle elements to the storytelling and really dig into them. The big themes I found in Paterson, about creativity, artistic identity, and finding joy in the small things of ordinary life, were easy enough to spot early on. This time I was more conscious of a visual element; reflective surfaces.
> 
> Paterson does a lot of reflecting; his poetry arises out of his reflections on what he's seen and heard. A lot of the movie is dedicated to us watching him do that, and in just about every shot where he's reflecting, there's a reflective surface-- the mirrors by his desk in the garage, above the sofa, on the wall in the dining nook, the windows of his bus, and the water in the river, to name the ones I noticed. I'm sure there's more. There's no mirror at the bar, which is unusual enough that I'm certain it was a narrative choice, but I wonder if his single glass of beer, either the glass itself or the beer in it, is his reflective surface there. 
> 
> This particular moment is full of reflections. Not only is Paterson mentally reflecting on the day's events, but his eyes are physically reflecting the waterfall, itself a reflective surface. Even the light on his face is a reflection; he's sitting with his back to the sun, so his face is actually in shadow, lit only by the light bouncing off what's in front of him. 
> 
> Photo used for reference was a promo photo for "Paterson" provided by TheAdamDriverFiles; this was created for their [Valentine's Day event.](https://twitter.com/AdamDriverFiles/status/1361027695094755332?s=20)
> 
> 13 hours of drawing time, during which I listened to the original score for Paterson on repeat. Beautifully atmospheric, it has all those same reflective elements represented, with lots of reverb and a sense of echoing space, the sound of the notes being reflected instead of light. 

[ ](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/reflections.jpg)

[](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/reflection-seyes.jpg) [](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/reflections-mouth.jpg)

[ ](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/reflections-ear.jpg)

**Author's Note:**

> [Say Hi on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/altocello)   
>  [You can also find me and my art on Tumblr.](https://artocello.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always sincerely appreciated!


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